Where are you fishing? Bay, ICWW, beach, pass? Right now the water is too cold. Few weeks it'll pick up.

You may want to find some small blue crabs along the shoreline as well because Feb is also a good time to find Permit in the Panhadle. They love a good crab meal. Again just enough weight to slow him down and also keep it from burying itself. I've read posts where some guys even break them on half. Permit aren't the only thing that will eat a blue. Keep in mind I'd a big Red hits this, they really need to stay in the water. Feb aint the time to go wading but even on 20# tackle you won't horse a big Red in before it has given you its all. I like to tell people that a photographed Red out of water is a "Last seen" photo. Theyre hard to revive and sharks love them. It sucks that surrounding states allow one over-slot Red per angler (at leat they used too) but they don't have the amount of coastline & bays/inlets that we enjoy here in FL or the travelling/vacationing anglers wanting a Slam. If we all kept a Big-Red daily, they'd be even more elusive than the endangered & now near extinct Red Snapper... Just one more thing...if the water isn't moving (no total or wind current) brace yourself for some great catfishing...take all the hard heads you can carry 😀 Feb is our coldest water month & bays will be at their coldest so it'll be tough. If you're building a rig for just this trip be conservative & don't be surprised if it turns tango uniform.

I've really only fished the FIW in the Panhandle a few times in my 30 years here. I can count how many times I've been successful on ... well I gave up because it was terrible. A lot of freshwater inflow & probably contaminated my lawn runoff & golf courses. But I'm guessing at that. However, the grass we call "June Grass" that piles up on our beaches East & West of Destin pass coincides with a Spring Summer green-up of lawns & golf courses along the waterways. So... yeah I'll stick with bays & nearshore where things are a bit cleaner at least. If you can fish intercoastals then hopefully you're close enough to a bay or beach for an alternative. Just my two cents.

Why not just match the hatch? Use or mimic whatever your target species is feeding on. Not hard to figure out with an open mind & a few hours on the water. A lot of lakes & streams don't even allow 2-cycle motors anymore due to minute bits of oil & carbon from the resulting exhaust. Your talking about straight uncut lubricant. Any forestry or law officer that says "sure couldn't hurt" probably poaches on the side. Not trying to be ugly guys. Just trying to stick to conscious fishing which after all, is what's right.

Copy all. Good luck

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1555584068207681?s=yWDuG2&fs=e&mibextid=Nif5oz

That came through my FB reels yesterday from another group. Hate the idea of fishing 40' above water though. That's off Okaloosa Island Pier. Wire leader & live Cigar or Spanish Sardines. You could pop a frozen cigar & trigger a strike as well or even a gator/crocodile spoon. Kings are fun on a 15 lb spinning rig. Dangle a bait rig around the pilings you may pick up some live Pilchards or Elaine's. Maybe Threadfin. Either way those Kings aren't there for tourism, they're eating whatever baitfish are left.

Wait are you in Perdido? If so ya'll have an absolute arti-reef program that Okaloosa & PC haven't bought into yet. I have buds at work (NAS Pensacola that hit Blackfin & Kings on kayaks. Deeper water fast. I mean Destin brags and they've got awesome water, but Escambia has an awesome fishery

MTwo of my buddies were at the PC pass yesterday and there were no fish on the rocks. This cold front has messed things up a bit. Supposed to hit the teens tonight. Gags are in close & flounder are on the nearshore wrecks. I'd say take a bunch of bull minnows, lizardfish & any sized choafers & hogfish out there. Water will drop a few degrees by the time we come out of this cold spell. Sunny skies & warmer weather next week should be nice. Right now though...windy cold sadness. Bottom fishing sucks in the wind my friend. Tak a chum block or two and a laundry bag with you. Pick up some frozen scad (cigar minnows) & a small box of squid. Chum up some grey snapper & Bzliners. Chunk Scad for greys 6/0 hooks & squid heads quartered with tentacles on 1 - 1/0 for b-liners flylined in your chumslick with no weight. No need for wire leader, 15 - 20 lb floro leader will work. If your getting bit off the Kings are still out there you can throw on a wire & drift a dead scad. Kings will wolf them down. Sorry I can't be of more help.

You don't have to go to South FL for Pomps we've got'em here in the Panhandle. They'll go out looking for warmer water on super cold fronts but when the sun comes out and the temp gets back up in the 50's They'll pop back inshore or nearshore at least. They're powerhouses & need to feed.

What fish are you after? The reason I ask is in the Gulf of Mexico when we do Gag & Red Grouper with the tide, we'll drift (over live bottom) & bounce live bait or vertical jig. Yeah we're bringing up & moving back up current every 5 min but we're also averaging a fish per drift. This is in 200' of water with 8 oz Bank weights. The trick is find the bottom (Power-pro braid & great composit rods) tighten the line so you know your on hard bottom vs sand. Then one crank. I now know that I'm 40 inches off bottom and I'll drop my rod tip about every 10 to 15 seconds to know I'm on hard bottom. There are channels, we just call cracks because we don't know, that are about 20 - 30 ft across. When we lose bottom we release until we hit again. Avg 6 - 8 ft drop. Drag about 30 seconds then bring up when we hit the ridge line and continue bouncing. We hit Gags on that drop the Red Grouper on the downcurrent edge as soon as we rise up & bounce. I am convinced after 20 years of this approach that Grouper, Amberjack (aka Reef Donkeys), Snapper and everything else down there, feel & hear your weight "CH CH" in the sand, or "CRACK" on the limestone bottom & ledge. Think about those sounds & how predatory fish hunt vs how sound moves through water. I used to dive. Due to horrible sinus' damaged ears from 37 years of aircraft maintenance & what not those days are done, but im a snorkeling fool when it comes to Flounder & Bay Scallops. Back to CH...CH...CRACK, those are natural sounds of feeding activity & crabs & what-not. If I'm a predator & something is stimulating my lateral lines I'm going to see what it is. Oh look it's a struggling fish! I always tell my buddies "BE THE FISH BOYS, BE THE FISH. What do you feel, what do you hear & what do you see? Is the moon & therefore the pressure, tide, water movement & available light working for or against me? Now... don't get me started on barometric pressure and its effective on available oxygen in the water. My best friend calls me a "Fish Whisperer" maybe & maybe not. But we put more fish in our killboxthan anyone we know. Regardless of the species we're sfter. Be the fish Boys & Girls. Be it, catch it, eat it & rub it in good. Just one more thing I promise. Share thes things with your Bestie. But when ya'll take your buddies along or you are invited on another buds' boat... That's not the time to share ideas & hard earned secrets. That's the time to BE THE MAN & catch everyone's bag limits. That gets you re-invited and out of paying your share of the gas :) ⛽️. Which can be $100 a pop each over 6 guys. Let them pay $125 - $150 is all I can say because they are getting free fish, that you caught haha. Sidenote: if you are a deckhand or Capt, you kinda need to share this with your customers or you'll be breaking stuck lines, retying, & explaining why they're stuck on the bottom all damn day. Plus it's your reputation as a catching Captain, vs a driver. Tight lines & broken rods my friends

Spot on

Because the cool guys aren't using Snoopy rods.

Always have a minimum of 3 rods per angler on your boat... if we target Pomps I have two identical go-to light (8 lb fast), one 12 lb med light & my light 8 lb baitcaster (All Terramax) my Spinners are Sustain's & my baitcaster (8 lb) is a Calcutta 210B. I'm ready for anything that comes along. Play your drag right, as long as it's hooked right, you can pull in the 3 ft man in the grey suit when the steals your rig. Yeah we get into alot of small Atlantic Sharpnose & Blacktips when we hunt Pomps. I love my baitcaster up to about 6 mph winds. Then its a spinner. Neither of them will I ever dog. They are my tools of choice & I work'em hard.

👍

Thank you sir, I'm glad to share what I know. I've fished the FL Panhandle since 92. Mostly Panama City area but my back seriously limits offshore trips for my buddy & I. So about 8 years ago we turned to inshore & it's a blast. Do I miss 50lb AJ & 35 lb Gags? Sure... but you won't hear me complain. Been trying to work Choctawhatchee bay in my kayak with my daughter on her SUP. Miss the ability to haul off at 50 mph & hit different spots but seeing my daughter catch her first Speck from her paddleboard beats a boat trip hands down.